Makan Central

My Secret Garden

2010-03-07T00:54:00.009+08:00

Słowik had a lovely discount voucher to dine at My Secret Garden, a quaint little restaurant tucked away along Middle Road - 161 Middle Road to be exact, so we decided to make reservations and have dinner there tonight. Just a lil warning, the photographs posted here were taken from my iPhone so they may not be the very best of quality ...

Above: Lobster Bisque for me

I had the lobster bisque to start, Słowik ordered the Buffalo Mozzarella with Salad for himself and we ordered a plate of Escargot to share. Am just imagining the food connoisseurs out there are probably fainting at the thought of ordering BOTH hot and cold appetizers at the same time but we're not the sort to follow protocol, we kinda order whatever we feel like ...

Above: Escargot for Hot Appetizer that we shared &
Below: A plate of Buffalo Mozzarella with Salad

The restaurant is not a large one with options to sit outdoors (great when the night is not hot) or inside. We decided to sit inside but it took us a long while to cool down because it was still pretty warm inside. We had to wait some for the food to come even though the restaurant wasn't packed with people but it was worth the wait as the food (most of it) was good.

Above: Candle light flickering at our table

I am not sure if the photographs show this but the portions served are not huge so we were not too stuffed at the end of the meal. For the mains, I decided to go for the lamb rack dish and Słowik went for the tenderloin.

Below: Tenderloin that was done such that it was nice and soft.

Ordering this would cost roughly about $35 per plate (minus the taxes) and again the portions are small but when you order the soup, starters, appetizers, you don't really need huge mains.

Above: Lamb Rack with almond (and pistachios I think) - yummy!

Our mains were done well, both were soft and tender even the tenderloin considering that it was a rather thick piece.

And we still had space for dessert so we went for the tiramisu (for me) and the Hot Date which was a date pudding served with caramel and lovely chewy ice cream.

Below: Ice Cream with Date Pudding covered with Caramel Sauce

For me, I didn't quite enjoy the tiramisu (see photograph below) and probably should have gone with my instinct and ordered the triple choc instead (well, next time maybe). But Słowik enjoyed his dessert and commented that it was one of the nicest date pudding (see photograph above) he has had thus far as it wasn't too sweet and it was nice and soft with general serving of caramel sauce.

Dinner came up to about $150 (before we used our voucher) and we didn't have wine with our meals so do expect to pay quite a bit for the meal there. The ambiance was nice as the restaurant is located central enough to the city but you forget that you're in the city because it is tucked away. The food in general was nice too, expect for the tiramisu that I had. We both felt that the service (that is the waiters & waitresses) could have been a little better. We did have to wait quite a bit when we wanted to make the second order for desserts and we had to ask them to clear some of the empty plates etc when we were done. But in general, it was a nice dinner at My Secret Garden.

Would we go again? Well we have another voucher to use to yes, we will go there again and may bring friends along. But without the voucher, I may not go there again unless I want a really light dinner :o)

Below: A lil My Secret Garden Bookmark as a souvenir for dining there.

Post and Photos by Zilla.

Ichiban Boshi @ Esplanade Mall

2009-09-01T21:11:00.004+08:00

When we are at Esplanade, we some how gravitate towards ichiban boshi if we crave for Japanese food. We're went there recently and I realised that we have not blogged about our visits there before. So here goes ...

This eatery is one of the five restaurants (others being ichiban sushi, Men-Ichi, Yakiyakibo and Czzar) that has a combined reward card that allows you to get a stamp for every $20 spent. We completed our card so some of the dishes below were 'free' items that we could claim.

One of my favourite snack is the fried salmon skin below served with a generous dollop of mayonaise. With this dish, there might be times when they are out of salmon skin so I have had my disappointed moments. When I was there last, I was abit worried about ordering because previous visit there, instead of telling us they were out of salmon skin, they served what looked more like salmon chips ... salmon sliced thinly and fried. So send it back if it's not to your liking. Thankfully, this time round, they got it right. Yum.

The seasoned baby octopus came as a complimentary dish and it's also something that I like and easily polished it off all by myself *grins*

Another favourite that we usually get is the salmon maru dish below. It's thin sliced salmon wrapped around some rice, topped with generous amount of mayo and fish roe.

You can get a good selection of handrolls here. The seaweed skin could be a lot more crispy but otherwise, am quite happy with the stuffing. I had fried soft shell crab and Słowik had the tuna belly handroll. Don't wait too long to eat this when it's served because the longer you wait, the 'soggier' it will be. I like my handrolls crispy when I munch into it!

Oooh, the dish below is probably sinful in terms of calories but it is finger-licking good. Why? Probably because of the butter that is used in the sauce that coats the corn. And you have to eat this while it's warm *grins* Am drooling just thinking about this dish. If you worry that eating corn might get a little mess, what is helpful is how the corn is chopped to smaller pieces that makes eating much easier. So don't forget to order this when you're there!

Ika tempura or squid coated with tempura batter is also something that we're fond of having. This comes with a wasabi mayo dip that enhances the flavour of the ika. Another dish that has to be eaten warm.

The gyoza below is lovely when made fresh and make sure you eat it with the sauce. I prefer to have it while it's warm (not hot) so that it's still nice and soft on the inside yet crunchy on the outside.

Ice tempura, I have no idea how they do this. Fry the tempura yet the vanilla ice-cream inside is still in its solid state. The drizzling of strawberry sauce adds a nice sourish taste that goes well with the vanilla ice-cream and tempura coating. The two desserts below were complimentary.

The Japanese Cheese Cake is much lighter and less cheesy compared to the American counterpart. But my preference is still the American Cheese Cake because I love the taste of creamy cheese with each bite I take *grins* But if you want something more subtle, than the Japanese Cheese Cake will suit you better.

If you're planning to head to ichiban boshi, I suggest that you go early because during the peak period (especially during dinner), it gets pretty packed and you will have quite a wait. We usually try and be there by 6pm and another later would mean joining the queue. Also be prepared that when the crowd comes in, service will be affected and you would need to keep getting their attention to top up your drink etc. Otherwise, we have been pretty happy with our visits there and will continue to head there when we're in the area and craving for Japanese food!

Address:
8 Raffles Avenue
#02-14 Esplanade Mall

Tel: +65 6423 1151

Post and Photos by Zilla.

Yummy Shepherd's Pie

2009-08-25T21:47:00.003+08:00

A colleague at work recommended this company that makes pretty good sheppard's pie, have quite a variety and for our Muslim friends out there, it's also halal - The Shepherd's Pie.

Let me just share with you the menu that I took off their website. For S$23.90 per tray, you can choose from the following:

The Lamb Special is richly flavoured ground lamb, mixed vegetables, topped with cheese & mash potatoes.
Then there is the Black Pepper Beef (spicy) with ground beef, mixed vegetables, topped with cheese & mash potatoes.
Next is the Black Pepper Chicken (spicy) with chicken chunks, mixed vegetables, topped with cheese & mash potatoes.
Classic Beef (traditional) with ground beef, mixed vegetables, topped with cheese & mash potatoes.
Classic Chicken (traditional) with chicken chunks, mixed vegetables, topped with cheese & mash potatoes.
Veggie Lovers' Meatless! Simply baked with a natural mix of vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms, topped with cheese and mash potatoes.

Below is a slice of the Lamb Special that I recently had. Thick layer of minced lamb, potatoes, mixed veggies and cheese oozing out. Yum yum!

Post and photo by Zilla.

Carrot Walnut Cake @ Cedele

2009-01-24T22:51:00.004+08:00

Do you know where I can get good carrot cake? This is where it gets a bit tricky because locally, we have our own version of carrot cake (dark or white ya *grins*) which is different from the western version. But equally yummy though!

I have tried slices of carrot cake from different places but I tend to find them either too sweet, too dry, too moist ... there's always something or the other that is not right. However, when I do crave for carrot cake, I usually head to Cedele's cuz they have pretty good Carrot Walnut Cake there and a generous slice (as seen below) is about $6.00.

They have a good spread of cakes, even has a flourless cake for those of you who are staying away from gluten for whatever reason. They also have added ice-cream in their list of desserts which I have not tried myself because I tend to stick to what I like best - the Carrot Walnut Cake! Yum!

Post and photo by Zilla.

Fish Soup with Rice ...

2009-01-24T22:19:00.003+08:00

When I have an urge to have something fresh and soupy, I tend to crave for fish soup. There are variations to this dish - either fried fish or just sliced fish, with noodles or rice, with milk or without. Truly spoilt for choice. And this dish is easily available at any hawker centre.

But my favourite has to be with rice. And usually I like to have with the sliced fish and clear soup but recently, I had some yummy ones at a makan place across the road from Bras Basah Complex (next to Allson and Victoria Hotel). I managed to take a photo before I tucked in and all this for $3.00!

There's a nice lady who mans the stall alone and I guess she uses fresh ingredients that makes this soupy dish delicious. And of course, you need to have it with chilli (and she uses hot chilli padi) with soya sauce and this will really make you sweat and clears up your system.

If you want the healthier option, skip the milk but for me, am hooked to the milky soup that she serves up!

Post and Photos by Zilla.

Jang Shou Korean BBQ at Esplanade Mall ...

2009-01-21T23:20:00.005+08:00

I've walked passed it many a times, commented that we should try the place some day yet took us a long while before we finally tried it today and am glad we did. We finally stepped into Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ outside Esplanade Mall at Colours on the Bay.

You can choose to sit at the area for the BBQ or if you don't want to be covered with smoke by the time you were done, you could choose to sit in another area away from the BBQ mini pit and have ala carte dishes all cooked for you and ready for you to tuck in.

Photo Below: Charcoal for our BBQ at our table.

We ordered too much because we weren't sure what to have. And because we looked so lost asking what was meant to go with what, the waitresses were around on standby to help us out. We had a nice Filipino girl who helped to BBQ the meat for us. What we had below is Grilled Inside Skirt Meat (Beef) or An Chang Sal. You get a basket of lettuce that you can wrap with the meat once cooked together with the heaps of condiments that came with our meal.

Photo Above: An Chang Sal or Grilled Inside Skirt Beef

We were shocked how many condiments that came with the meal. They had to push it all on a trolley and a few minutes were spent arranging the condiments on the table. Up to you how you want to eat these, either on their own or wrapped with the grilled meat and lettuce.

The photograph above shows the spread of condiments that came with the meal. There were so many that they had to push it out on a tray and took a few minutes to arrange them all. And you get everything from kimchi, pickled bamboo shoots and other yummy side dishes.

We also ordered a portion of Boiled Beef Rib Soup or Galbi Tang which I forgot to take a photograph of. It's very tasty soup, with pieces of beef (waitress helped to cut the meat to bite size pieces and served it into two portions), with glass noodles. It comes with a serving of plain rice.

Photo Below: Grilled Beef Rib Meat or Suwom Neobiani

The Grilled Beef Rib Meat or Suwon Neobiani has to be the best order we made. It is soft meat that's barbequed to your preference and it has a sweet marinate that made it so yummy. It's one of those that's highly recommended by the restaurant too. You can eat this with the lettuce together with anything else you fancy. I had it with plain rice and it was sooooo nice.

We also had Rice Mixed with Assortment in Hot Stone Pot or Dol Sot Bi Bim Bab as seen in the photo below. It's rice mixed with an assortment of veggies and egg. I didn't want the bean sprouts in there so they accomodated and served that separately. It was another tasty dish. I had the chilli added separately because my tummy wasn't behaving properly tonight.

We also ordered two drinks each and dinner came up to S$139.00. Yeah, quite a lot but we ordered too much. I reckon the next time we're there, we'll probably just have one order of the lovely meat and mixed rice and we're done. Would come up to half of what we paid for tonight.

Post and pictures (taken on my Song Ericcson mobile) by Zilla.

Equinox Restaurant at Swissotel the Stamford

2007-09-24T21:35:00.000+08:00

If you are afraid of heights, then this is not an experience for you. If you love to have the cityscape infront of you as you eat, then you have to try having a meal at Equinox Restaurant, Swissotel The Stamford. You can choose to have lunch or dinner. Currently, they have a lunch buffet special, so keep a look out for their special promotions for a good deal. Also, depends on what's your preference. I personally think the night view is definitely a lot more interesting than the daylight view. So plan carefully, especially if it's for a special occasion.

Some things that you have to take note if you are dining at Equinox.These are some of our take-aways after having dinner at the restaurant over the weekend. Firstly, if you want to sit by the window, the restaurant has a window seat policy. There are two shifts for dinner that you can choose from, either from 6.30pm to 8.30pm or 8.30pm to 11.30pm. You have to call ahead to make reservations so if you're going for lunch, check with them if they have a similar policy.

This window seat policy is a good way for them to make money cuz you get more people by having two shifts. We went for the 6.30pm slot. Also prepare your credit card as you have to give them your credit card details. If you don't turn up, they will charge $40 per pax. And if you're running late, they will hold your table for 15 minutes so do watch the time.

We had a nice table and the view was fantastic. I think the 6.30pm slot is a good one cuz you really see the change in landscape. Each minute I look out, the landscape looks different. So out came my camera and yes, I took pictures. Kinda hard with the glass window and I had reflections in my pictures. And as it got darker, all the pictures turned out blurry. But these are some that I had of the skyscrapers for your viewing pleasure.

Above: View from my seat at 6.47pm.

Above: And this is the last (clear) shot at 7.25pm.

The view is really amazing from that height. As for the food...where do I start. We were served with some bread with butter and olive oil. And pretty cool how they served the basket of bread (see below).

For starters, I had their Bisque of Lobster and Mud Crab soup and found it so so. It looked presentable but taste wise..it was pretty average.

Was pretty dark inside when we started on our dinner. We both ordered their Beef Tenderloin (see below) which was their signature dish. For what we were paying, we really expected something heavenly. Found the meat chewy (gums actually hurt after I was done eating the meat). Was very tiring that dish I must say. Huge disappointment. Had to down alot of water when eating dinner. Oh yes, we had still water (no tap water served of course) and we had three bottles throughout the night and each bottle costs us $10. So savour your Evian please *laughs*

How could we miss dessert ya? I did think about having Cedele's carrot cake but getting all dressed up and since we started already had the main at Equinox, thought we could end with something nice. So we picked the Sweet Temptation (below) that was meant for two. Should have listened to my instincts and gone for the carrot cake at Cedele's. Dessert was no big deal and that was really our last shot to go ooohhh and ahhh over the food but we didn't :o(

What I would suggest to you would be this. Plan your evening carefully. If you're willing to fork out $400 for dinner for two, then please go ahead and have dinner (starter, main meals and dessert with drinks in between) at the Equinox Restaurant. Otherwise, have dinner elsewhere, then head to City Space which is at Level 70 at the same hotel. You get the great view of Singapore cityscape minus the huge hole in your pocket. They have a good singer there and you can just enjoy the drinks as you watch the cityscape.

Post and pictures by Zilla.

Pho Hoa: Vietnamese Noodle House @ Holland Village

2007-09-16T22:28:00.000+08:00

Stumbled upon this place many moons ago by chance when we were walking around at Holland Village looking for a place to eat. We were having a late lunch and decided to give Pho Hoa a try. I had some Vietnamese beef noodle elsewhere before but it didn't leave any impression on me.

But Pho Hoa is a different thing all together. I am no pro when it comes to Vietnamese noodles but this place was good for me cuz of it's oh so tasty soup. It's got quite a range of noodle soups to choose from, mainly beef but you can choose chicken ones too. You can also choose to make your own combination of meats for your beef noodle which is good if you're fussy about what you eat.

We went there again today for dinner after a long break and left the place totallt stuffed. For appetitisers, we got our usual spring roll. It's served warm and it's nice and crispy when you bite into it. Also try the sweet chilli dip sauce that comes with the spring roll.

We were feeling hungry so we ordered a few more appetizers that we didn't try the last time. The meat on skewers were tasty with a nice mix of onions and capsicum. I didn't use the sauce that came with it cuz the meat were tasty on their own.

We also had the steamed chicken with egg which was also okay but might leave this out the next time round unless I am really really hungry. You can taste the minced chicken when you bite into this. They definitely do not stinge on their meats.

Moving on to the main meal, I got my favourite there is the Adventurer's Choice ($11.00) which has a mix of various beef parts such as brisket, flank, tripe and tendon amongst others, boiled in tasty hot soup. I love the chewy tripe and gooey tendon that has been cooked till it's so soft. Yum yum!

Bless them for serving their bean sprouts or taugeh separately cuz I am no fan of these stringey things so was thrilled when they brought this separately. If you're a taugeh fan, dig in!

If you want something simple (or safe), no worries, lots for you to choose from. They also have rice dishes on their menu if you're not into noodles. And for noodles, you can choose to have the regular size (good when you're hungry) or the large bowl (when you're very very hungry). After slurping every single bit of goodness and soup in the bowl, am too stuffed to try their dessert. Will have to try and do that the next time round cuz eyed the Vietnamese Chendol and Fried Banana with Ice-Cream Tower which sounded real good. Will keep that for our next visit.

What brings us back to Pho Hoa - the staff are generally very nice and very obliging, the place is simply decorated yet cosy and the beef noodle soup tastes great. Good enough reason for me.

Photos and post by Zilla.

Yummy Chicken Wings

2007-08-24T14:06:00.001+08:00

I love chicken wings. There are different ways to do them and I just love them. Forget about chicken breast meat, it's the healthiest cut but not the tastiest to me. So what I have done for this post is to see what are the different ways of having them wings in Singapore. And this is work in progress and I'll keep adding new ones as I come across them.

There is the common honey-coated barbeque wings that you can find at most hawker centres or makan places. You will see them lined up in skewers and the seller busy coating it with honey every now and then. It's usually eaten with sweet chilli. The best ones I've had are the ones that my Mom makes but the ones outside are okay too :o)

Then there are the famous buffalo wings at Hooters. Usually I love to have them naked (i.e. without the batter) and for the sauce, HOT is good enough for me. It's not really spicy but more sour cuz of the tobascos sauce that they use.

Another place that I love to have their wings (used to be called Ding Wings but now they have changed it to Buffalo Wings) would be at 3 Monkeys Restaurant. Served with sweet chilli sauce, this is perfect even with just plain rice. It's really tasty wings. If you're interested to try, the restaurant is at #01-20, Orchard Towers 400 Orchard Road, 238875.

And the search for more great wings goes on. Will update when I have new finds :o)

Post and pictures by Zilla.

Food that makes you go hmm....

2007-07-18T08:35:00.000+08:00

In Singapore, we have food that might make those weak at heart faint. Am sure it's true for every country so am going to share with you some of my favourite hmmm food.

The Malay word for these little fellas are 'siput' and it's cooked with coconut milk to get this spicy thick gravy. If you're on a diet, skip slurping the gravy but you're really missing on something very nice. My mom makes really great Siput Lemak but the preparation is quite horrid cuz you get these fellas live and they will be crawling all over. And you got to cut the ends. Why? Cuz the way to get them out is to suck them using your mouth *laughs* I know the whole process sounds horrid but trust me, it's really worth it!!! If you don't want to go through the hassle of chasing after these little fellas, go to Hjh Maimunah Restaurant at 11 Jalan Pisang Singapore 199078 (Tel : 6291-3132) cuz they have one of the best Siput Lemak around.

Another seafood that's a favourite among us locals would be these Gong Gong :o) Told you we have some odd names for what we eat. I have no idea why they are called Gong Gong but like the siput, getting to the meat is quite a ritual. You use a tooth pick to dig the meat out, throw the pointy bit (you can see it sticking out from the shell from the picture below) and eat the rest with soya sauce mixed with sambal or chilli padi. These can be easily found at any seafood place and easy to prepare cuz it's basically you just need to boil and serve.

And then you have these chicken claws or chicken feet. Yes, the feet. I hear the 'eeeewwww' but really when cooked properly like these ones, they are so flavourful (thanks to the spices) and very tender that they melt in your mouth. These ones are from Victor's Kitchen at 91 Bencoolen Street, Sunshine Plaza #01-21 (Tel 98382851). Lots of people go there so be prepared to wait some to get a table.

Alrighty, will stop here for now in case some of you are not feeling too good :o). Will post more of such dishes in small installment for your viewing (and hopefully tasting) pleasure. Be adventurous, go forth and try my friend!

Post and pictures by Zilla.

Conveyor Belt Sushi @ Sushi Don

2007-07-16T21:10:00.000+08:00

These conveyor sushi belt places are really awesome. Love the way the plates of different yummy food go by one by one and it's not possible to resist the temptation to take this plate, that plate, the next one and the one after that! And I always end up having way too many plates. Just can't help myself. There are several choices for us to choose from but thanks to a good friend Mag who introduced me to Sushi Don, Slawek and I usually go there for good handrolls. They also have Thai and Korean dishes but we have my top picks from there that are must haves and they are usually the Japanese items. There is one Sushi Don at Funan Mall (along North Bridge Road) and another along Rendezvous Hotel (opposite where SOTA's campus will be at).

The handrolls are really good. I don't like the ones at Sakae Sushi cuz they tend to be rather stingy on the fillings and it's always a battle when I bite into the handroll as the seaweed sheet is so tough. But at Sushi Don, the seaweed sheets that they use are fresh and crispy and it's such a joy to sink our teeth into them. What I usually go for are their spider handroll (soft shell crab) and their salmon skin handroll. The others are just as good.

I have never been a fan of raw salmon and yes, I have been missing out on the good stuff. I usually like my salmon grilled but when we were at Sushi Don the last time, I finally tried one from Slawek's plate and yes, I LOVED IT. The above dish was so pretty to look at that I had to try one and no regrets. But at the moment, I can have about two pieces of the raw salmon maximum and am still enjoying the taste. Am not sure if I can handle anymore than that for now. Maybe will sneak in another piece the next time I am there and see how that goes.

Another favourite of ours is their unagi. The unagi sushi that they serve are generous in portion and are really moist. Am just drooling looking at the picture that we took from our last visit *grins*.

Other things that I would have would be their fried white bait, fried calamari, chawamushi and loads of other stuff that I didn't take pictures of. Just way too many plus it will reveal what a glutton I am! Am a carnivore but when I feel like having some greens, I like munching on these Japanese beans and they are so easy to make at home too. But I usually end up having them when we're at Sushi Don and I am feeling guilty about not having any veggies in my meal.

Anyways, if you're in the area and feel like having some conveyor belt sushi, give Sushi Don a try and you must try their handrolls. The staff there are really nice too and oh yes, don't place the plastic cover back on the belt. The staff there will come by and take it from you. So just put it to the side for them to pick up. Price wise? For the coloured plates, the prices range from $1.90 to $6.90 (red premium plates) . It's really not too bad and we feel that it's good value for money. Here's one last picture to help whet your appetite. By the way, what's the Japanese version of Bon Appetit?

Post and pictures by Zilla.

About Słowik and Zilla...

2007-07-16T21:00:00.000+08:00

A few words from Zilla:

I am a true blue Singaporean and that means that I have been put on this Earth to enjoy food - all sorts of food be it Western or Asian. I love my chillies and I have it with everything. I was told that chillies kill the taste and flavour of food but I beg to differ. Chillies help to enhance the flavour and for food that has no taste, just a dash of chilli will make a huge difference. If I had to choose my last meal, it would probably be good nasi padang with paru goreng, sambal sotong, ayam masak merah, siput lemak and lots of chilli padi *grins* And of course it will include desserts and I love cheesecakes basically. Will have to do several posts dedicated to different cheesecakes in Singapore ya. And also good carrot cake with a generous spread of cheesey cream on it. Alrighty, am drooling already thinking of all these yummy food. On Makan Central, it's basically where we will share our eating experiences with you - the good, the bad, the ordinary and even the down the odd food that we may come across. Till then, keep coming back to check out our posts!

A few words from Słowik:
My attitudes towards food have so far spanned the gamut of cravings to the point of addiction and total indifference. Right now I am somewhere in between. I have no favourites. I also do not have any foods that I do not like although there are some I prefer more or less. I grew up on Polish food during the times when the iron curtain was drawn. So the food was simple but healthy. Delicacies, such as ham and bacon (not the common bacon strips), were once a year treat for Christmas. The general attitudes towards food were totally different to those in Singapore. Perhaps it was because unlike in Singapore where food is available almost everywhere and almost any time of day, there it was a mostly private affair in one's home. I am in search of my favourites but I do not hold out much hope of finding them at this stage. Although I am ready to be surprised. Should you come along for this journey you may be surprised, too.